Industrial-enabled mobile device

ABSTRACT

An industrial-enabled mobile electronic device, such as a personal mobile phone or tablet computer, allows a user to wirelessly interact with industrial devices for a variety of purposes. The mobile electronic device can communicate with an industrial device to read and write configuration settings, read and view log data, send commands to the industrial device, and other such functions. The mobile electronic device can perform various types of analysis on images and video of the industrial device captured by the mobile electronic device, including identifying and translating a model or device number printed on the device, or translating error codes displayed by the industrial device. The mobile electronic device can also retrieve additional information about the industrial device or the device&#39;s stored data via interaction with a remote technical support service, and can be used to facilitate dialog with a remote technical support person.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject application relates generally to industrial automation, and,more particularly, to an industrial-enabled mobile personal device thatcan facilitate wireless interaction between a user and an industrialdevice.

BACKGROUND

Industrial controllers and their associated I/O devices are central tothe operation of modem automation systems. These controllers interactwith field devices on the plant floor to control automated processesrelating to such objectives as product manufacture, material handling,batch processing, supervisory control, and other such applications.Industrial controllers store and execute user-defined control programsto effect decision-making in connection with the controlled process.Such programs can include, but are not limited to, ladder logic,sequential function charts, function block diagrams, structured text, orother such programming structures. In general, industrial controllersread input data from sensors and metering devices that provide discreetand telemetric data regarding one or more states of the controlledsystem, and generate control outputs based on these inputs in accordancewith the user-defined program.

In addition to industrial controllers and their associated I/O devices,some industrial automation systems may also include low-level controlsystems, such as vision systems, barcode marking systems, variablefrequency drives, industrial robots, and the like which perform localcontrol of portions of the industrial process, or which have their ownlocalized control systems.

Human interaction with these disparate industrial devices—including butnot limited to installation, and configuration of the devices,identification of the devices' visual indicators, device calibration,diagnostics, retrieval and translation of log data stored on thedevices, and other such interactions—often requires the user to besufficiently near the device to allow the user to visually inspect thedevice, manually adjust a configuration parameter or mode setting (e.g.,by actuating a button or dial on the device), or to plug a physicalcable to the device to facilitate communication between the device and aportable computer (e.g., a laptop computer). This requirement restrictsthe possible installation locations for such devices, since the choiceof installation location must allow for these types of maintenanceaccess.

Moreover, installation, maintenance, and diagnostics of these industrialdevices often require plant maintenance or engineering personnel torefer to the devices' documentation (e.g., user manuals, installationguides, etc.) or to contact remote technical support entities in orderto identify the device, interpret error codes, translate logged datastored on the device, or other such device interactions. However, devicedocumentation may not be readily available to plant personnel whenneeded, particularly if the user is investigating a maintenance issue onthe plant floor. In such scenarios, the user may be located at the siteof the problem (e.g., physically proximate to the device), but thedocumentation for the device may be located elsewhere in the plant(e.g., in the engineering office), or may be missing altogether.

If the user wishes to contact remote technical support personnel toassist in diagnosing a performance issue with an industrial device, theuser must first locate the contact information for the remote supportoffice. Once in contact with remote support personnel, the user mustthen provide information about the device and the problem to be solved,which may include identifying the device, interpreting visual indicatorsrendered by the device, describing the device's recent operation, etc.However, these interactions between the end user and the technicalsupport staff may require a degree of knowledge about the device thatthe end user does not possess.

The above-described deficiencies of today's industrial control andbusiness systems are merely intended to provide an overview of some ofthe problems of conventional systems, and are not intended to beexhaustive. Other problems with conventional systems and correspondingbenefits of the various non-limiting embodiments described herein maybecome further apparent upon review of the following description.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects described herein. This summary is not anextensive overview nor is intended to identify key/critical elements orto delineate the scope of the various aspects described herein. Its solepurpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude tothe more detailed description that is presented later.

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the use ofmobile personal electronic devices—e.g., smart phones, tablet computers,and the like—in connection with documenting, installing, calibrating,and diagnosing industrial automation devices. To this end, one or moreindustry-specific applications can be installed on a mobile electronicpersonal device, thereby enabling the mobile device to interact with oneor more industrial devices (e.g., industrial controllers, sensorsopto-electronic devices, safety relays or other safety automationcomponents, etc.) to carry out a variety of industrial functions. Theindustry-specific applications can leverage one or more peripherals ofthe mobile device—including but not limited to the mobile device'scamera, microphone, wireless interface, biometrics reader, displayscreen, position detection systems (e.g., global positioning systems)etc.—to capture or retrieve information about an industrial device orinformation stored thereon, and to process this information assist theuser in connection with identifying the industrial device, discoveringinformation about the industrial device, sending instructions to theindustrial device via the mobile device, configuring the industrialdevice, or other such functions.

According to various embodiments, a mobile device running anindustry-specific application can capture a photograph or video of anindustrial device and translate error codes or LED blinking sequencesrendered by the industrial device based on the photograph or video,identify the industrial device based on the photograph or video, and/orretrieve relevant device documentation from a remote knowledgebase basedon the photograph or video.

In some embodiments, the industry-enabled mobile device may also be usedto write data or send command signals to the industrial device via themobile device's wireless interface (e.g., Bluetooth, near fieldcommunication (NFC), or other such wireless interface). In suchembodiments, the industry-enabled mobile device can enforce role-basedread/write privileges for selected industrial devices using the mobiledevice's user recognition functionality, including, but not limited to,biometric or password-based verification. This ensures that onlyverified authorized personnel (e.g., maintenance or engineeringpersonnel) are permitted to read and write information to the industrialdevice via the mobile device.

Some embodiments of the industrial-enabled mobile device can alsosimplify and automate interactions between plant personnel and remotetechnical support services. This can include, for example, automatedretrieval of relevant technical support documentation from a web-basedor cloud-based knowledgebase based on information about the industrialdevice collected by the mobile device, or routing the captured deviceinformation to a web-based or cloud-based diagnostic service capable ofanalyzing the device data and delivering configuration or diagnosticrecommendations to the mobile device. In some embodiments, the mobiledevice can present these diagnostic features to the user in the form ofa troubleshooting wizard that guides the user through a series of checksand/or operations to yield a solution to a device performance issue. Inanother example, the industry-enabled mobile device can collect relevantinformation about the industrial device (e.g., via the mobile device'scamera and/or wireless interface) and route the collected data tosuitable remote technical support personnel capable of assisting the enduser with installation or troubleshooting of the industrial device. Theindustry-enabled mobile device can subsequently facilitate dialogbetween the end user and the technical support personnel.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certainillustrative aspects are described herein in connection with thefollowing description and the annexed drawings. These aspects areindicative of various ways which can be practiced, all of which areintended to be covered herein. Other advantages and novel features maybecome apparent from the following detailed description when consideredin conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates interactions between a user, an industrial systemcomprising one or more industrial devices, and a cloud platformfacilitated by an industrial-enabled mobile device according to one ormore embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example industrial-enabled mobiledevice.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of an industrial-enabled mobile devicecapable of identifying an industrial device using photographic data.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of an industrial-enabled mobile devicecapable of translating error codes displayed on an industrial device.

FIG. 5 illustrates data read and write functions carried out between anindustrial-enabled mobile device and an industrial device.

FIG. 6 illustrates retrieval of log data from an industrial device usingan industrial-enabled mobile device.

FIG. 7 illustrates interactions between an industrial-enabled mobiledevice and an industrial safety device.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example file format for storing SIL-specificpermissives.

FIG. 9A illustrates an example gate control system that facilitatesaccess to a safety-secured area in response to commands initiated via anindustrial-enabled mobile device.

FIG. 9B illustrates the example gate control system in response toreceipt of an authenticated gate open request.

FIG. 10 illustrates an industrial-enabled mobile device that can be usedto link a user to remote technical support, and to route relevantindustrial device data to remote technical support personnel.

FIG. 11 illustrates an industrial-enabled mobile device that can be usedto locate failed sensors or other industrial input devices.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an example methodology for identifying anindustrial device using a mobile personal electronic device.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an example methodology for interpreting an LEDblinking sequence on an industrial device.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of an example methodology for initiating safetygate access using a mobile personal device.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of an example methodology for performingdiagnostics on an industrial device using a mobile personal device.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of an example methodology for using a mobilepersonal device to identify one or more equivalent replacement devicesfor an industrial device.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of an example methodology for initiate remotetechnical support for an industrial device using a mobile personaldevice.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of an example methodology for identifying andlocating a failed I/O device using a mobile personal device.

FIG. 19 is an example computing environment.

FIG. 20 is an example networking environment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject disclosure is now described with reference to the drawings,wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elementsthroughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation,numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding thereof. It may be evident, however, that the subjectdisclosure can be practiced without these specific details. In otherinstances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagramform in order to facilitate a description thereof.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “system,”“platform,” “layer,” “controller,” “terminal,” “station,” “node,”“interface” are intended to refer to a computer-related entity or anentity related to, or that is part of, an operational apparatus with oneor more specific functionalities, wherein such entities can be eitherhardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or softwarein execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited tobeing, a process running on a processor, a processor, a hard disk drive,multiple storage drives (of optical or magnetic storage medium)including affixed (e.g., screwed or bolted) or removably affixedsolid-state storage drives; an object; an executable; a thread ofexecution; a computer-executable program, and/or a computer. By way ofillustration, both an application running on a server and the server canbe a component. One or more components can reside within a processand/or thread of execution, and a component can be localized on onecomputer and/or distributed between two or more computers. Also,components as described herein can execute from various computerreadable storage media having various data structures stored thereon.The components may communicate via local and/or remote processes such asin accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., datafrom one component interacting with another component in a local system,distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet withother systems via the signal). As another example, a component can be anapparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical partsoperated by electric or electronic circuitry which is operated by asoftware or a firmware application executed by a processor, wherein theprocessor can be internal or external to the apparatus and executes atleast a part of the software or firmware application. As yet anotherexample, a component can be an apparatus that provides specificfunctionality through electronic components without mechanical parts,the electronic components can include a processor therein to executesoftware or firmware that provides at least in part the functionality ofthe electronic components. As further yet another example, interface(s)can include input/output (I/O) components as well as associatedprocessor, application, or Application Programming Interface (API)components. While the foregoing examples are directed to aspects of acomponent, the exemplified aspects or features also apply to a system,platform, interface, layer, controller, terminal, and the like.

As used herein, the terms “to infer” and “inference” refer generally tothe process of reasoning about or inferring states of the system,environment, and/or user from a set of observations as captured viaevents and/or data. Inference can be employed to identify a specificcontext or action, or can generate a probability distribution overstates, for example. The inference can be probabilistic—that is, thecomputation of a probability distribution over states of interest basedon a consideration of data and events. Inference can also refer totechniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set ofevents and/or data. Such inference results in the construction of newevents or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored eventdata, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporalproximity, and whether the events and data come from one or severalevent and data sources.

In addition, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” ratherthan an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clearfrom the context, the phrase “X employs A or B” is intended to mean anyof the natural inclusive permutations. That is, the phrase “X employs Aor B” is satisfied by any of the following instances: X employs A; Xemploys B; or X employs both A and B. In addition, the articles “a” and“an” as used in this application and the appended claims shouldgenerally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwiseor clear from the context to be directed to a singular form.

Furthermore, the term “set” as employed herein excludes the empty set;e.g., the set with no elements therein. Thus, a “set” in the subjectdisclosure includes one or more elements or entities. As anillustration, a set of controllers includes one or more controllers; aset of data resources includes one or more data resources; etc.Likewise, the term “group” as utilized herein refers to a collection ofone or more entities; e.g., a group of nodes refers to one or morenodes.

Various aspects or features will be presented in terms of systems thatmay include a number of devices, components, modules, and the like. Itis to be understood and appreciated that the various systems may includeadditional devices, components, modules, etc. and/or may not include allof the devices, components, modules etc. discussed in connection withthe figures. A combination of these approaches also can be used.

FIG. 1 is a general overview depicting interactions between a user, anindustrial system comprising one or more industrial devices, and a cloudplatform facilitated by an industrial-enabled mobile device according toone or more embodiments. Industrial-enabled mobile device 102 maycomprise any suitable mobile electronic personal device, including butnot limited to a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or other such consumerelectronic device. Industrial-enabled mobile device 102 may include anumber of input peripherals (e.g., a camera with photographic and videocapability, a microphone, a touch screen, a keyboard, a biometricsreader etc.) and output peripherals (e.g., a display screen, a speaker,etc.). Industrial-enabled mobile device can also include one or morewireless interface capabilities, including but not limited to Bluetooth,near field communication (NFC), 4G, WiFi, etc.

Industrial-enabled mobile device 102 comprises a processor (e.g., amicroprocessor, such as a multi-core processor) whose operation iscontrolled, in part, by information stored in the device's memory. Thisinformation can include operating system software, application software(e.g., one or more industry-specific applications installed on thedevice 102), configuration data, or other such information.

Industrial system 104 comprises a number of industrial devices thatoperate together to control an industrial process or automate one ormore industrial machines. Example industrial systems can include, butare not limited to, batch control systems (e.g., mixing systems),continuous control systems (e.g., PID control systems), or discretecontrol systems. The industrial devices that make up industrial system104 can include such devices as industrial controllers (e.g.,programmable logic controllers or other types of programmable automationcontrollers); field devices such as sensors and meters; motor drives;human-machine interfaces (HMIs); industrial robots, barcode markers andreaders; vision system devices (e.g., vision cameras); smart welders; orother such industrial devices.

Example industrial systems can include one or more industrialcontrollers that facilitate monitoring and control of their respectiveprocesses. The controllers exchange data with the field devices usingnative hardwired I/O or via a plant network such as Ethernet,EtherNet/IP, Data Highway Plus, ControlNet, DeviceNet, or the like. Agiven controller typically receives any combination of digital or analogsignals from the field devices indicating a current state of the devicesand their associated processes (e.g., temperature, position, partpresence or absence, fluid level, etc.), and executes a user-definedcontrol program that performs automated decision-making for thecontrolled processes based on the received signals. The controller thenoutputs appropriate digital and/or analog control signaling to the fielddevices in accordance with the decisions made by the control program.These outputs can include device actuation signals, temperature orposition control signals, operational commands to a machining ormaterial handling robot, mixer control signals, motion control signals,and the like. The control program can comprise any suitable type of codeused to process input signals read into the controller and to controloutput signals generated by the controller, including but not limited toladder logic, sequential function charts, function block diagrams,structured text, or other such platforms.

The industrial devices comprising industrial system 104 may reside infixed-location industrial facilities, or may be part of a mobile controland/or monitoring application, such as a system contained in a truck orother service vehicle.

Industrial-enabled mobile device 102 can be configured to collect andprocess data, in a variety of formats, from one or more industrialdevices comprising industrial system 104, and to provide useful outputsto the owner of the mobile device 102 relating to the identification,function, status, and health of the industrial devices. Mobile device102 can also be configured to write configuration data, calibrationdata, or commands to the industrial devices in accordance with inputinstructions from the user, subject to biometrically enforced userauthentication.

In some embodiments, industrial-enabled mobile device 102 can processthe collected industrial device data locally in accordance withapplication instructions installed on the mobile device. In addition oralternatively, industrial-enabled mobile device 102 can interact withweb-based or cloud-based remote services 108 to facilitate remoteprocessing of the industrial device data. In such embodiments,industry-enabled mobile device 102 serves as an interface point betweenthe industrial system 104, the user, and the remote services 108residing on cloud platform 106. In this regard, some embodiments ofindustrial-enabled mobile device 102 can be configured to discover andinteract with the remote services 108 hosted by cloud platform 106.Cloud platform 106 can be any infrastructure that allows remote services108 to be accessed and utilized by cloud-capable devices. Cloud platform106 can be a public cloud accessible via the Internet by devices havingInternet connectivity and appropriate authorizations to utilize theremote services 108. In some scenarios, cloud platform 106 can beprovided by a cloud provider as a platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and theremote services 108 can reside and execute on the cloud platform 106 asa cloud-based service. In some such configurations, access to the cloudplatform 106 and associated remote services 108 can be provided tocustomers as a subscription service by an owner of the remote services108. Alternatively, cloud platform 106 can be a private cloud operatedinternally by an industrial enterprise that owns industrial system 104.An example private cloud platform can comprise a set of servers hostingthe remote services 108 and residing on a corporate network protected bya firewall.

Services 108 can include, but are not limited to, remote diagnostics,error code analysis, technical documentation storage, remote technicalsupport, device or system behavior tracking, device configurationmanagement, or other such services. These services will be described inmore detail herein. Although FIG. 1 depicts these services as remoteservices hosted on a cloud platform 106, one or more of the servicesdescribed herein can be performed locally on industry-enabled mobiledevice 102 in some embodiments.

In one or more embodiments, an industrial mobile application can beprovided that, when installed on a user's mobile personal device (e.g.,mobile phone, tablet, smart glasses or other type of wearable computer,etc.), enables the mobile device to interact with one or more industrialdevices and process data captured from the industrial devices by themobile device, and/or to render output to the user based on datacaptured from the industrial devices. In other embodiments,industrial-enabled mobile device 102 can be provided as a pre-configuredmobile device capable of performing these functions.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example industrial-enabled mobile device202 according to one or more embodiments of this disclosure. Aspects ofthe systems, apparatuses, or processes explained in this disclosure canconstitute machine-executable components embodied within machine(s),e.g., embodied in one or more computer-readable mediums (or media)associated with one or more machines. Such components, when executed byone or more machines, e.g., computer(s), computing device(s), automationdevice(s), virtual machine(s), etc., can cause the machine(s) to performthe operations described.

Industrial-enabled mobile device 202 can include one or more of acamera/video component 204, a user interface component 206, a biometricscomponent 208, a wireless interface component 210, an industrialapplication component 212, one or more processors 214, and memory 216.In various embodiments, one or more of the camera/video component 204,user interface component 206, biometrics component 208, wirelessinterface component 210, industrial application component 212, the oneor more processors 214, and memory 216 can be electrically and/orcommunicatively coupled to one another to perform one or more of thefunctions of the industrial-enabled mobile device 202. In someembodiments, components 204, 206, 208, 210, and 212 can comprisesoftware instructions stored on memory 216 and executed by processor(s)214. Industrial-enabled mobile device 202 may also interact with otherhardware and/or software components not depicted in FIG. 2. For example,processor(s) 214 may interact with one or more external user interfacedevices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a display monitor, a touchscreen,or other such interface devices.

Camera/video component 204 can be configured to capture photographicimage or video data via a camera lens built into the mobile device 202.Camera/video component 204 can also include a microphone to capturesound data concurrently with the video data. Camera/video component 204can convert analog signals received via the mobile device's cameraand/or microphone into digital data suitable for processing by thesystem.

User interface component 206 can be configured to receive user input andto render output to the user in any suitable format (e.g., visual,audio, tactile, etc.). Biometrics component 208 can be configured toread biometric data from an owner of mobile device 202 (e.g., afingerprint or retina scan, a facial image, etc.) and cross-referencethe biometric data with a user identity. Some features ofindustrial-enabled mobile device 202 may only be permitted uponconfirming that biometric data provided by the possessor of the mobiledevice is associated with a user identity having suitable authorizationto execute the requested feature. Wireless interface component 210 canbe configured to connect the industrial-enabled mobile device 202 to awireless network or to establish wireless communication (e.g., nearfield communication, WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.) with another device havingwireless communication capability.

Industrial application component 212 can be configured to execute on theindustrial-enabled mobile device 202 to facilitate wireless interactionwith one or more industrial devices (e.g., industrial controllers,sensors, telemetry devices, safety relays, etc.), and leverage themobile device's memory and processing capabilities to process datacaptured or collected from the industrial devices. Industrialapplication component 212 can be, for example, a specialized softwareapplication that can be installed on a user's personal mobile electronicdevice, thereby enabling the mobile electronic device to carry out theindustrial functions to be described in more detail herein. A variety ofindustrial application components 212 can be provided, each designed tocarry out one or more of the industrial functions described herein.

The one or more processors 214 can perform one or more of the functionsdescribed herein with reference to the systems and/or methods disclosed.Memory 216 can be a computer-readable storage medium storingcomputer-executable instructions and/or information for performing thefunctions described herein with reference to the systems and/or methodsdisclosed.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of an industrial-enabled mobile devicecapable of identifying an industrial device using photographic data. Inthis example, industrial device 302 (e.g., an industrial controller, asafety relay, a sensor, a motor drive, etc.) has a catalog number 314visible on a surface of the device. In some scenarios, catalog number314 may comprise printed, raised, or embossed characters spelling thename or model number of the industrial device 302. Catalog number 314may also comprise quick response (QR) code or other machine-translatablecode printed on a surface of the industrial device 302.

In this example, industrial-enabled mobile device 202 can be used totake a photograph or video of the catalog number 314 on industrialdevice 302. The mobile device 202 can then locate the catalog number 314within the photograph or image data, translate the catalog number 314 todetermine the identity of the industrial device 302, and retrieverelevant information about the industrial device 302 for display via themobile device's display screen.

Accordingly, the mobile device's camera/video component 204 can capturean image or video of the portion of the industrial device 302 on whichthe catalog number 314 is located (typically the front face of theindustrial device 302, although the catalog number 314 may be locatedelsewhere on the device). Industrial application component 212 isconfigured to recognize the portion of the image or video datacontaining the catalog number 314, and to extract the catalog numberfrom the image or video. In the case of a human-readable or alphanumericcatalog number, industrial application component 212 may perform opticalcharacter recognition on the image in order to identify the catalognumber. For QR codes or other machine-translatable codes, industrialapplication component 212 can perform a suitable translation on the codein order to obtain the identity of the industrial device 302.

Once the catalog number 302 has been identified, industrial applicationcomponent 212 can submit the translated catalog number 302 to a productdata store that maintains product information for multiple industrialdevices, organized according to catalog number. In some embodiments,this product data store can be maintained by the industrial applicationcomponent 212 on the mobile device's local memory (e.g., memory 216 ofFIG. 2). Accordingly, once the catalog number has been identified,industrial application component 212 can access this local data storeand retrieve the relevant information about the identified industrialdevice 302. This information can include, for example, a name of theindustrial device 302, a function of the industrial device 302, productdocumentation (e.g., installation guide, user's guides, troubleshootingguides, links to websites containing additional information about theidentified industrial device 302, etc.), contact information fortechnical support entities who may be qualified to provide support forthe identified industrial device 302, or other such information. Theproduct information may also include an indication of whether othersoftware applications (e.g., other downloadable mobile deviceapplications) specific to the identified industrial device 302 areavailable for download. In another example, the product information maycomprise recommended configuration settings for the industrial device302, which can then be downloaded to the industrial device 302 usingmobile device 202, according to techniques described in more detailbelow.

Once the product information has been retrieved, industrial applicationcomponent 212 can then leverage the user interface component 206 torender the retrieved product information 312 on a display screen of themobile device. For embodiments in which the product data store ismaintained locally on the industrial-enabled mobile device 202, theindustrial application component 212 may update the product data storebased on updated product information received from a remote source(e.g., a vendor associated with the industrial device 302) via wirelessinterface component 210.

In another embodiment, the product data store may be maintainedremotely, e.g., on a remote cloud platform 106 or other remote location.In such embodiments, after industrial application component 212 has readand translated catalog number 314 from the industrial device 302 locallyat the mobile device, the industrial application component 212 can thensubmit the catalog number 308 to the remote product data store 306residing on cloud platform 106 via wireless interface component 210.Data retrieval services executing on cloud platform 106 can thenretrieve the relevant product information corresponding to the catalognumber 308 from product data store 306, and return the productinformation 310 to the mobile device 202. Industrial applicationcomponent 212 can then render the retrieved product information 312 onthe mobile device's display screen. In such embodiments wherein themobile device 202 interfaces with a cloud platform 106 to retrieverelevant product information, the industrial application component 212can be preconfigured with information required to discover and interactwith the appropriate services on cloud platform 106 (e.g., a uniformresource locator (URL) identifying the cloud platform 106,identification of the necessary cloud-based services to which theextracted catalog number should be sent, etc.).

In some embodiments, industrial application component 212 and productdata store 306 can be configured to identify a possible replacementdevice that can be used in place of the identified industrial device302. This can include identification of similar or equivalent devicesavailable from the same vendor or supplier of industrial device 302, oridentification of a similar or equivalent device available from adifferent vendor. According to such embodiments, product data store 306may cross-reference similar or equivalent devices across differentvendors, and identify one or more suitable replacement devices forindustrial device 302 based on this cross-referenced information. In anexample application of this feature, a given plant facility may comprisemultiple industrial automation systems, each comprising multipleindustrial devices (e.g., controllers, sensors, drives, etc.) providedby a variety of different product vendors. Plant personnel wishing tostandardize their plant floor devices under a single preferred productvendor can use industrial-enabled mobile device 202 to identifyequivalent replacement devices offered by the preferred vendor for eachof their existing devices. These equivalent devices can be identified bytaking a photograph of the existing industrial device using the mobiledevice's integrated camera, and instructing the industrial applicationcomponent 212 to identify suitable vendor-specific replacement devicesand association product information from product data store 306. Theindustrial application component 212 can render a list of equivalentdevices on the mobile device's display screen via user interfacecomponent 206. In some embodiments, industrial application component 212can also display ordering information to simplify or automate theprocess of ordering the identified replacement devices (e.g., web links,click-to-order graphical buttons, contact information for localsuppliers who carry the replacement device, etc.).

In some embodiments, the industrial-enabled mobile device 202 can beconfigured to identify the industrial device 302 based on otherdistinctive physical attributes of the industrial device, which can beidentified by analyzing the image or video data of the device. In thisregard, industrial application component 212 may be configured torecognize certain distinctive physical features that characterizerespective models of industrial devices. Accordingly, the industrialapplication component 212 can analyze the image or video of theindustrial device 302, isolate and identify these distinctive physicalattributes, and identify the industrial device based on storedinformation that cross-references a variety of physical features withtheir corresponding industrial devices. Industrial application component212 can then retrieve corresponding product documentation or identifysuitable replacement devices as described in previous examples.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of an industrial-enabled mobile devicecapable of translating error codes displayed on an industrial device. Inthis example, industrial device 402 (e.g., an industrial controller, asafety relay, a sensor, a motor drive, etc.) has an integrated errordisplay 412 located on its front face. Error display may be, forexample, an alphanumeric display (e.g., a seven-segment display) thatrenders a numeric or alphanumeric code corresponding to a current errorcondition of the industrial device. Alternatively, error display 412 maycomprise one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) that blink accordingto a particular blinking sequence, where the blinking sequencecorresponds to the current error condition. In this regard, industrialdevice 402 may be configured to recognize multiple error conditions(e.g., over current, ground fault, over heat, program fault, lowvoltage, etc.), and each error condition is associated with a particularalphanumeric error code (if a seven-segment display is used) or aparticular blinking sequence (if an LED is used).

In this example, industrial-enabled mobile device 202 can be used totake a photograph or video of the displayed error code or blinkingsequence, and the mobile device 202 can identify the error associatedwith the error code or blinking sequence based on the image or video.The mobile device 202 can then display information about the error,including possible corrective measures that can be taken to correct orclear the error condition.

Accordingly, the mobile device's camera/video component 204 can capturethe image or video of the portion of the industrial device 402 on whichthe error display 412 is located (typically the front face of theindustrial device 402, although error display 412 may be locatedelsewhere on the device). In this example, industrial applicationcomponent 212 is configured to recognize the portion of the image orvideo data containing the error code or blinking sequence, and extractthe error code or blinking sequence information from the image or video.In the case of a seven-segment error code or other type of alphanumericcode, industrial application component 212 may perform optical characterrecognition on the error code image in order to identify the error code.For the blinking sequence, industrial application component 212 canperform analysis on the video recording of the blinking LED to identifythe distinctive blinking sequence captured in the video.

Once the error code or blinking sequence has been identified, industrialapplication component 212 can cross-reference the error code or blinkingsequence with the corresponding error, and retrieve information aboutthe error based on the error code and the particular model of theindustrial device 402. Since the error corresponding to the error codeor blinking sequence will often depend on the model number or type ofthe industrial device 402, industrial application component 212 can beconfigured to identify the error based on the identified error code orblinking sequence as well as the model number (or other identifier) forthe industrial device 402 being examined. In some scenarios, the modelnumber or identifier for the industrial device 402 can also bedetermined based on analysis of the image or video data, as describedabove in connection with FIG. 2. Alternatively, the model number oridentity of industrial device 402 can be entered manually by the uservia user interface component 206. For example, industrial applicationcomponent 212 may render a graphical display on the mobile device'sdisplay screen prompting the user to enter the model number or identityof industrial device 402. In some embodiments, industrial applicationcomponent 212 may maintain a database of supported industrial devices onthe mobile device's local memory, and allow the user to select theindustrial device from a list of these supported devices rendered on thedisplay screen. The industrial application component 212 may update thisdatabase of supported industrial devices based on an updated list ofsupported devices received from a remote source (e.g., a vendorassociated with the industrial device 402) via wireless interfacecomponent 210.

In some embodiments, industrial-enabled mobile device 202 can maintainlocal error code information for multiple different error codes, acrossmultiple different industrial devices. For example, this error codeinformation may be stored on the mobile device's local memory (e.g.,memory 216) upon installation of industrial application component 212.Accordingly, industrial application component 212 can access thislocally stored error code data and select the appropriate subset oferror information corresponding to the identified error code and theindustrial device identifier. This error information 414 can then berendered on the mobile device's display screen via the user interfacecomponent 206. Error information 414 can comprise, for example, anexplanation of the error or fault corresponding to the error code,instructions on how to clear the error or fault, possible causes of thefault, one or more countermeasures for mitigating future occurrences ofthe error or fault, or other relevant information.

In other embodiments, the error code information can be stored remotely,e.g., in a technical support data store 406 maintained on cloud platform106. As with the product data store 306 described above in connectionwith FIG. 3, the industrial-enabled mobile device 202 can access remotetechnical support data store 406 via an Internet connection usingwireless interface component 210. Industrial application component 212can extract and translate the error code rendered by error display 412as described above, and submit the error code 408 and industrial deviceidentifier to the technical support data store 406 via wirelessinterface component 210. Search and retrieval services executing oncloud platform 106 can retrieve the error information 410 correspondingto the error code 408 and device identifier, and deliver the errorinformation 410 to the mobile device 202 for display on the device'sdisplay screen.

In addition to reading and translating images and video of industrialdevices as described above, some embodiments of the industrial-enabledmobile device can write data or commands to certain types of industrialdevices, as well as read stored configuration, status, or log data fromthe industrial devices. FIG. 5 illustrates data read and write functionscarried out between an industrial-enabled mobile device 202 and anindustrial device 502. In this example, industrial device 502 isdepicted as an industrial controller (e.g., a programmable logiccontroller). However, embodiments of industrial-enabled mobile devicedescribed herein can exchange data with other types of industrialdevices, including but not limited to telemetry devices, sensors, safetyrelays, motor drives, vision systems, industrial cameras, and the like.

In some embodiments, industrial-enabled mobile device can establishcommunication with industrial device 502 over a wireless connection(e.g., Bluetooth, near field communication (NFC), WiFi, etc.) inresponse to an instruction from the owner of the mobile device 202. Insuch scenarios, industrial device 502 may include its own wirelessinterface to facilitate communication and data exchange with otherdevices. In order to ensure that only authorize personnel are permittedto wirelessly connect to the industrial device 502, industrialapplication component 212 executing on mobile device 202 may leveragethe mobile device's integrated biometric functions (e.g., biometricscomponent 208 of FIG. 2) or other integrated user authenticationfeatures of the mobile device to ensure that the owner of the mobiledevice 202 is suitably authorized to send commands to and/or read datafrom industrial device 502. For example, the industrial applicationcomponent executing on industrial-enabled mobile device 202 may beconfigured to enable read/write privileges with industrial device 502only after the user has passed a biometric confirmation (e.g., afingerprint scan, a retina scan, a facial recognition check, etc.),where the user's biometric data is received via the mobile device'sbiometrics component 208. Once the user's biometric information has beenconfirmed, the industrial application component can initiate wirelesscommunication with the industrial device 502. Alternatively, the user'sidentity may be confirmed via password authentication.

In another example, the degree of access to industrial device 502 maydepend on a role associated with the owner of mobile device 202.Accordingly, either the mobile device 202 or the industrial device 502may store the identities of all authorized personnel having some degreeof permitted access to industrial device 502, as well as each authorizedperson's role (e.g., operator, maintenance, engineer, finance, etc.) orexplicit degree of allowed access. When the owner of mobile device 202attempts to initiate communication between mobile device 202 andindustrial device 502, the mobile device 202 prompts the user forbiometric information. If the personnel data is maintained locally onmobile device 202, the industrial application component executing on themobile device can identify the user based on the provided biometricinformation, determine the user's role and associated degree of access,and enable only those read/write features granted to the user's role.For example, some users may only be permitted to read log data stored onindustrial device, while others may additionally be permitted to writeor make changes to the industrial device's stored configuration settingsvia mobile device 202.

The degree of access to a particular industrial device may depend on thetype of industrial device for which access is requested. For example,the read/write privileges for safety devices (e.g., safety relays) maybe limited such that only users defined as having an engineering roleare permitted to make changes to the safety device's configurationsettings via mobile device 202, whereas non-safety devices may bedefined to allow write privileges to both engineering and maintenanceusers. In another example, a broader range of users may be permitted toaccess sensors or telemetry devices relative to users allowed to accessindustrial controllers via mobile device 202. Since the user's degree ofpermitted access may be device-specific, the industrial applicationcomponent executing on mobile device 202 may first identify theindustrial device 502 (e.g., by polling the industrial device 502 fordevice identification information over the wireless connection), thendetermine the user's read/write privileges to that particular industrialdevice based on the stored permission data.

In other scenarios, the user privilege information may be stored on theindustrial device itself. In such scenarios, the industrial-enabledmobile device 202 may receive a command from the owner of the mobiledevice to read information from, or write data to, industrial device 502(e.g., via a graphical display generated by the industrial applicationcomponent 212). The mobile device 202 can send this request to theindustrial device 502 over the wireless connection, together with theuser's identification information (authenticated by the mobile device202 using biometric confirmation). Upon receipt of this data, theindustrial device 502 can access the stored permission data to determinewhether sufficient read/write privileges have been associated with theuser identification to permit the requested action. If the industrialdevice 502 determines that the identified user is not permitted toperform the requested action, the industrial device 502 may return adenial indication to the mobile device 202, causing the industrialapplication component 212 to render an appropriate message on the mobiledevice's display screen indicating that the action cannot be completed.

Contingent on the read/write permission described above,industrial-enabled mobile device 202 can be used to write configurationand command data 504 to the industrial device. This can include, forexample, modifying one or more configuration parameters on theindustrial device 502 through interaction with a specialized graphicalinterface generated by the industrial application component 212 andrendered on the mobile device's display screen. In some scenarios,configuration parameters can be modified manually by selecting a desiredparameter on the mobile device's display screen and entering a new valuefor the parameter, which is then downloaded to the industrial device 502by the mobile device 202. Alternatively, mobile device 202 may downloada set of recommended configuration settings for the industrial device502 from a remote source (e.g., a remote web-based or cloud-basedproduct knowledgebase containing recommended parameter settings forvarious industrial devices, where such recommended parameter settingsmay be a function of the type of industrial application in which theindustrial device 502 is being used). The mobile device 202 can thenwrite the downloaded configuration settings to the industrial device502.

In another example, the industrial-enabled mobile device 202 can be usedto remotely place the industrial device 502 in a desired operating modewithout the need to physically touch the device. For example, a user mayplace an opto-sensor in a Teach mode by wirelessly connecting to thesensor using the mobile device 202 and switching the mode throughinteraction with a suitable graphical interface generated by theindustrial application component 212 and rendered on the mobile device'sdisplay screen. Mobile device 202 can also be used to remotely clear afault condition on the industrial device 502 by writing a Clear Faultcommand to the industrial device via the mobile device's wirelessinterface component (in response to user interaction with a graphicalinterface generated by the industrial application component and renderedon the mobile device's display screen).

Since the user's identity is verified prior to allowing newconfiguration data to be written to industrial device 502—eitherbiometrically or by virtue of a user identity associated with apassword-protected mobile device—the industrial-enabled mobile device202 can facilitate tracking of all configuration modifications made toindustrial device 502. For example, each time a configuration change ismade to industrial device 502 by an industrial-enabled mobile device,the mobile device can send a record of the modification, as well as thebiometrically authenticated identity of the owner of the mobile device,to a higher level tracking system residing in the plant, or to a remotetracking application executing on cloud platform 106. Such trackingsystems can use this data to create a log of configuration modificationsmade to industrial device 502, including the nature of the modifications(e.g., which configuration parameters were modified, the valves of theparameter settings before and after the change, etc.), a time of themodification, and an identity of the user who performed the change.

Contingent on the user's read privileges, industrial-enabled mobiledevice 202 can also be used to view and/or retrieve device data 506stored on the industrial device 502. In some scenarios, the device data506 may comprise configuration parameters for the industrial device 502.For example, if the industrial device 502 is a variable frequency drive(VFD), industrial-enabled mobile device 202 may be configured toestablish wireless communication (e.g., NFC, Bluetooth, etc.) with theVFD and poll the VFD for its current configuration settings (e.g.,acceleration and deceleration times, deceleration time, frequency bias,torque limit, etc.). Since the range of configuration parametersavailable to be viewed depends on the particular industrial device beingexamined, the industrial application component 212 executing on themobile device 202 may initially identify the type or model of industrialdevice 502, e.g., by polling the industrial device for identificationinformation, or using the photographic analysis discussed above inconnection with FIG. 3. Based on the determined identity of the device,industrial application component 212 can then generate a suitablegraphical display for viewing the configuration parameters and settingsknown to be available on that particular industrial device. Depending onthe user's biometrically confirmed (or password confirmed) read/writeprivileges for the identified industrial device, the industrialapplication component 212 can also allow selected configurationparameters to be modified via the mobile device 202 through interactionwith the graphical interface, allowing suitably authorized personnel towrite new configuration settings to industrial device 502 without theneed to touch the device or to physically connect a separate laptopcomputer to the industrial device. Thus, industrial-enabled mobiledevice 202 allows greater freedom with regard to selection of a suitableinstallation location for industrial devices, since industrial devicesthat require configuration modifications after installation need not belimited to locations that allow for physical maintenance access to thedevice. Instead, the industrial devices can be installed at any locationwithin wireless range of the mobile device's wireless interface (e.g.,within NFC or Bluetooth range).

In addition to determining the type or model of industrial device 505,some embodiments of the industrial-enabled mobile device 202 may befurther configured to determine whether the industrial device 502 is asafety device or a non-safety device before allowing the user to modifythe industrial device's configuration settings. The mobile device 202may then set the sequence of operations for changing the industrialdevice's configuration parameters based on this determination. Forexample, it may be desirable to enforce additional safety confirmationsteps when writing new configuration settings to a safety device (e.g.,a safety relay) versus writing new configuration data to a non-safetydevice (e.g., a vision system, a non-safety sensor, etc.). Accordingly,in response to determining that industrial device 502 is a safety device(e.g., using techniques described above in connection with FIG. 3), theindustrial application component 212 may perform additional verificationchecks with industrial device 502 before sending the new configurationparameters to the industrial device. These steps may include, forexample, requesting confirmation from the safety device that acontrolled process or machine is in a safe state, requestingconfirmation from the industrial device that the configuration changesrequested by the user will not result in unsafe machine behavior, orother such verifications.

In some embodiments, industrial-enabled mobile device 202 can alsofacilitate documentation of an industrial device's configurationsettings. For example, in addition to retrieving and displaying theindustrial device's current configuration settings, the mobile device202 may also save a copy of these configuration settings, either bystoring the settings on the mobile device's local memory or bywirelessly transmitting the settings to remote storage (e.g.,cloud-based storage maintained on cloud platform 106). In this way,plant personnel can easily retrieve and document the configurationsettings for various devices making up an industrial system.Additionally, in some embodiments, after retrieving and storingconfiguration settings of a first industrial device, theindustrial-enabled mobile device 202 can be used to write these storedconfiguration settings to a similar second industrial device. Forexample, if a plant engineer is commissioning a new VFD that requires anidentical configuration setting as another VFD already in use on theplant floor, the plant engineer can use industrial-enabled mobile device202 to read and store the configuration settings for the existing VFD asdescribed above, wirelessly connect to the new VFD, and write thepreviously retrieved configuration settings to the new VFD.

The techniques described above can also be leveraged in some embodimentsto perform pre-diagnosis on industrial devices. For example, someindustrial devices may store and maintain local maintenance information,which can be read and translated by the industrial-enabled mobile device202. The locally stored maintenance information may comprise, forexample, device or component life cycle information that may determinewhen a device or one of its internal components should be replaced ormaintained. In a non-limiting example, an electromechanical device mayinclude a number of internal switches having a limited lifetime that isat least partially a function of the number of work cycles. Such devicesmay include a data register that tracks the number of work cyclesperformed by the device. In such examples, when a user brings the mobiledevice 202 near the electromechanical device, the mobile device 202 maywirelessly connect to the electromechanical device, read the work cycledata from the register, and determine whether the number of work cyclesexceeds (or is approaching) a recommended maximum number of work cyclesfor that particular device. If the number of work cycles is determinedto approach or exceed this maximum, the mobile device 202 can generatean alert indicating that the device (or the bank of switches installedwithin the device) should be replaced. In another example, an opticaldevice (e.g., an industrial camera, a vision system, etc.) may bedesigned to detect dirt or other foreign bodies on its lens, which maylower the device's optical reserve or accuracy. The optical device mayflag an internal register when such problems are detected. In a similarfashion to the previous example, the mobile device 202 can read thisregister and generate an alert indicating to the user that maintenanceshould be performed on the optical device. As in previous examples, themobile device may perform these types of diagnoses based on a determinedidentity of the device being read, and by referencing local or remoteinformation about the identified device (e.g., information identifyingthe device's diagnostic registers, information describing how the valueswithin these registers should be interpreted, information describingappropriate alarm messages that should be generated based on thediagnostic register values, etc.).

The manner in which the industrial-enabled mobile device interacts witha given industrial device may be based not only on the device identity(e.g., the model of the device, the device vendor, etc.), but may alsobe a function of the device's status or the particular type ofindustrial application in which the industrial device is being used. Forexample, light curtains used in connection with stamping press machinesmust be located a safe distance from the dangerous moving components ofthe press. Accordingly, based on the knowledge that the light curtain isbeing used in a press application (e.g., based on manual entry of thetype of industrial system being examined, based on information read fromthe device, etc.), the mobile device 202 may configure its graphicalinterface or alert messages to emphasize this safety aspect. This mayinclude, for example, prompting the user to verify the safe distance,tracking the user's position using the mobile device's internal globalpositioning system and generating automated alerts in responsedetermining that the user is approaching an unsafe distance from thedevice given the current operating state, etc. In another example, ifthe mobile device determines that the light curtain has been configuredfor muting functionality, the mobile device can configure the graphicalinterface or alert messages to assist the user in correctly positioningthe muting sensors to be used for muting the light curtain (e.g.,generating informational messages recommending installation locationsfor such muting sensors relative to the light curtain or other systemcomponents, etc.).

In some scenarios, device data 506 may also comprise log data stored onindustrial device 502. FIG. 6 illustrates retrieval of log data from anindustrial device using an industrial-enabled mobile device. As inpreviously described examples, an industrial application component 212leverages the mobile device's wireless interface component 210 toestablish communication with industrial device 602. In this example,industrial device 602 is designed to collect and/or generate log data inconnection with the industrial device's operation, and to store this logdata on local data storage 604. The logged data can comprise, forexample, time-stamped status or operational data generated by theindustrial device 602 (e.g., measured temperature or speed trend dataover time, an alarm or fault history for the industrial device, etc.) orhistorical data collected by the industrial device 602 from otherconnected sensors or telemetry devices.

After successfully connecting to industrial device 602, industrialapplication component 212 can cause the mobile device 202 to retrievethe log data 614 from the industrial device's local data storage 604. Asin previous examples, industrial application component 212 may requirebiometric authentication from an owner of the mobile device 202 beforepermitting retrieval of the log data 614. Also similar to previousexamples, mobile device 202 may initially poll industrial device 602over the wireless connection to determine a type or identity (e.g., amodel number) of the industrial device. Based on the determined type oridentity of industrial device 602, industrial application component 212can determine the available types of logged data available on theindustrial device (e.g., by accessing a local or remote knowledgebasethat identifies the data available for each of multiple different typesof industrial devices). Alternatively, the mobile device 202 maydiscover the types of data available on industrial device 602 based onan examination of data storage 604 (e.g., during a handshaking sequencebetween industrial device 602 and mobile device 202).

Mobile device 202 can retrieve the log data 614 from industrial device602 and store the retrieved data on the mobile device's local storage.The retrieved data can then be accessed and viewed via interaction withthe mobile device's display screen. In some embodiments, industrialapplication component 212 can also perform analysis and/or diagnosticson the retrieved log data 614. Such analysis can be performed locally onmobile device using local analysis tools supported by industrialapplication component 212. Alternatively, in some embodiments,industrial-enabled mobile device 202 can send the log data 608 to cloudplatform 106 for analysis by a remote web-based or cloud-based analysisservice. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the cloud-based analysisservice comprises a customer data store 616 for storing log data 608received via the mobile device 202 (or pushed to the cloud platform 106by other means) and an analysis component 606 that executes as a serviceon cloud platform 106. Analysis component 606 can perform analysis onthe collected log data stored in customer data store 616, and returnanalysis results 610 to mobile device 202 for display on the mobiledevice's display screen.

Various embodiments of analysis component 606 can provide a range ofanalyses on industrial device data retrieved by mobile device 202. Forexample, the cloud-based analysis system can analyze logged trend datacollected from the industrial device 602 to identify a system trendindicative of an impending system failure or operating inefficiency.Accordingly, the analysis service can return information identifying oneor more recommended countermeasures for mitigating the impending systemfailure (e.g., replacement of the device, modification of one or moredevice parameters, etc.). In another example, the industrial-enabledmobile device 202 may retrieve a device profile from industrial device602 that specifies the model number of the device, current firmware orsoftware version installed on the industrial device, configurationsettings for the industrial device, or other such informationcharacterizing the identity, status, and/or configuration of the device.The mobile device 202 can send this device profile to the cloud-basedanalysis service, which can compare the device profile with up-to-dateproduct information in a product resource data store to determinewhether a newer version of the industrial device 602 or associatedsoftware/firmware for the device is available. Notification services onthe cloud platform 106 can then deliver upgrade opportunitynotifications to the mobile device 202 based on this determination. Inyet another example, the cloud-based analysis service may analyze thelog data 608 in view of other data sets collected for similar types ofindustrial systems (e.g., using machine learning, data mining, etc.) toidentify dependencies or correlations that may otherwise be hidden tothe customer. In this regard, data collected from one or more industrialdevices at the user's plant facility can be correlated with datacollected from similar industrial applications in use at other customersites, and the analysis services can generate predictions andconfiguration recommendations based on learned correlations betweenasset configurations and system performance. Industrial applicationcomponent 212 can render analysis results 612 generated either by localor remote analysis of the log data 614 on the display screen of mobiledevice 202 via user interface component 206.

In some embodiments, if local or remote analysis of the stored log data614 yields a recommendation that one or more configuration parameters ofthe industrial device 602 be modified to improve performance, industrialapplication component 212 can offer the user the option to write therecommended configuration changes to industrial device 602 using mobiledevice 202. For example, based on local or remote analysis of log data614, the industrial application component 212 may determine thatincreasing a particular setpoint value configured in the industrialdevice 602 by 10% may reduce occurrences of a recurring fault condition,or otherwise improve performance of the industrial device or relatedprocess. Accordingly, industrial application component 212 can renderthis information to the user via the display screen of the mobile device202, and offer the user the option to write this new setpoint value tothe industrial device 602, e.g., by pressing a graphical confirmationbutton rendered on the mobile device's display screen. Selecting theconfirmation button will cause the mobile device to write the newsetpoint value to industrial device 602, as described in previousexamples.

The ability to read status and configuration data from industrialdevices using a mobile personal electronic device may have particularutility when interfacing with industrial safety devices, such as safetyrelays, safety curtains, and the like. FIG. 7 illustrates interactionsbetween an industrial-enabled mobile device 202 and an industrial safetydevice 702. Industrial safety device 702 may have a range of storedstatus, operational, and configuration data available for viewing andanalysis. For example, an industrials safety device may maintain a dataregister indicating the light device's current safety integrity level(SIL), operating mode, or other relevant data. Versions of industrialapplication component 212 specific to safety applications can enablemobile device 202 to read and display this SIL level so that the ownerof the mobile device 202 can confirm that the appropriate safetyintegrity level is being implemented. Mobile device 202 can alsodetermine and indicate whether industrial safety device 702 is operatingin standard mode or safety mode based on examination of the operationand configuration data stored in the safety device.

Moreover, some safety-related embodiments of industrial applicationcomponent 212 can enforce safety-specific read/write permissions basedon a role and/or identity of the user (e.g., the owner of mobile device202), the current safety level and/or the safety functionality enabledon industrial safety device 702. For example, one or both of theindustrial safety device 702 or mobile device 202 may store a file thatdefines which users are allowed to access industrial safety device, andwhat actions each user is permitted to perform relative to industrialsafety device 702 as a function of the current safety integrity level ofthe relevant function of the industrial safety device. FIG. 8illustrates an example file format 802 for storing such SIL-specificpermissives for a safety function. As depicted in FIG. 8, each useridentity 804 is granted particular sets of permissives 808 depending onthe current SIL level 806. The permissives granted to each user maydepend on the defined role of that user. For example, while maintenancepersonnel may be allowed to access and modify certain device parametersvia mobile device 202 at high safety integrity levels, operators mayonly be allowed to access and modify these parameters at lower safetyintegrity levels.

Safety-specific embodiments of industrial application component 212 maybe configured to enforce these SIL-specific permissives. For example,returning now to FIG. 7, a user may input a request to mobile device 202to connect to industrial safety device 702 and modify a configurationparameter thereon. Industrial application component 212 may firstrequest biometric confirmation of the user's identity, as described inprevious examples. Industrial application component 212 can alsowirelessly connect to industrial safety device 702 and determine thecurrent SIL level of the safety device. Based on the determined useridentity and the current SIL level, identity, industrial applicationcomponent 212 can then reference the stored permissive file (e.g., afile having a format similar to that depicted in FIG. 8) to determinewhether the user is permitted to perform the requested action given thecurrent SIL level. Accordingly, the industrial application component 212can then either carry out the requested action (e.g., perform therequested parameter modification) or deny the action based on thisdetermination.

In scenarios in which the user permissive file is stored on industrialsafety device 702 rather than on mobile device 202, the mobile devicecan send the biometrically confirmed user identity and a signalspecifying the requested change to the safety device 702. The safetydevice 702 can then determine whether to carry out the requested actionbased on the stored permissive file. In some embodiments, the permissivefile may be stored remotely (e.g., on cloud platform 106) rather thanbeing stored locally on the mobile device 202 or industrial safetydevice 702. In such embodiments, mobile device 202 can send the useridentity and the request to this remote location and await confirmationthat the identified user is permitted to perform the action on safetydevice 702 prior to sending the request to the safety device.

In another example application, one or more embodiments ofindustrial-enabled mobile device 202 can be used to assist in sensoralignment. For example, proper alignment of certain through-beamphotoelectric sensors or light curtains—e.g., sensors comprising anemitter and a receiver—can be determined based on the light intensitymeasured at the receiver. Some sensors and light curtains store areal-time analog value representing the light intensity measured at thereceived (e.g., the measured intensity of light emitted by thetransmitter and seen by the receiver). Accordingly, proper alignment ofthe receiver and the transmitter can be determined based on adetermination of whether this light intensity value exceeds a specifiedvalue.

One or more embodiments of industrial application component 212 can beconfigured to confirm proper alignment of such sensors or light curtainsby reading this measured light intensity value from the sensor andconfirming whether the measured value is within a range specified forthe particular sensor indicative of proper alignment. For example, theowner of mobile device 202 can initiate an alignment verificationroutine supported by industrial application component 212. In response,industrial application component 212 can render a suitable graphicalinterface on the mobile device's display screen, and initiate wirelesscommunication with the sensor or light curtain as described in previousexamples (e.g., via Bluetooth, NFC, or other wireless communicationprotocol). In this example, industrial application component 212 hasaccess to information specifying the minimum light intensitiessignifying proper alignment for multiple different types of sensors orlight curtains. This information can be stored locally on mobile device202 (e.g., stored on the mobile device's local memory when industrialapplication component 212 is installed, and updated as needed via thewireless interface component 210 when such updates become available).Alternatively, this information may be stored remotely—e.g., on cloudplatform 106—and industrial application component 212 can access thisinformation via wireless interface component 210.

Since determination regarding whether the sensor's measured lightintensity indicates proper alignment depends on the model or type ofsensor being examined, industrial application component must firstidentify the sensor model or type. In some embodiments, industrialapplication component 212 can prompt the user to enter the sensor modelor type manually via the mobile device's display screen, or to selectthe sensor or light curtain model from a displayed list of supporteddevices. Alternatively, industrial-enabled mobile device 202 candetermine the sensor information automatically, either by reading sensoridentification information stored on the sensor, or using techniquesdescribed above in connection with FIG. 2.

After the sensor or type has been identified, the industrial applicationcomponent 212 can instruct mobile device 202 to read the measured lightintensity value from the appropriate register of the sensor's memoryover the established wireless connection. In some embodiments,industrial application component 212 can use the previously determinedsensor type information to determine which area of the sensor's memorythe light intensity value is located. Once the light intensity value hasbeen retrieved, industrial application component 212 can compare themeasured value with the expected minimum light intensity valuesignifying proper alignment for the identified sensor type or model. Ifthe measured intensity indicates proper sensor alignment, industrialapplication component 212 can render a confirmation message on thegraphical interface of the mobile device's display screen.Alternatively, if the measured intensity indicates that the sensor orlight curtain is not properly aligned, industrial application component212 can render a suitable message indicating that the sensor is out ofalignment. In some embodiments, industrial application component 212 mayalso generate and display recommendations for correcting themisalignment based on the light intensity value and, if appropriate,other information read from the sensor. For example, industrialapplication component 212 may indicate an estimated degree ofmisalignment based on a comparison of the measured light intensity withthe known optimal light intensity for the indicated sensor type.

Some embodiments of industrial-enabled mobile device can act as a mobilehuman-machine interface (HMI) that facilitates regulated access to gatedareas of an industrial facility without requiring the user to touch thegate control system. FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate an example gate controlsystem that facilitates access to a safety-secured area in response tocommands initiated via an industrial-enabled mobile device. In thisexample scenario, an area within an industrial facility—e.g., ahazardous area near a controlled industrial machine or process 912—isenclosed within a protective barrier (e.g., a safety cage) and isaccessible only through a controlled safety gate 902. The machine orprocess 912 is controlled by an industrial controller 910 (e.g., PLC orother automation controller). Controller 910 also communicates with gatecontrol box 906, which controls opening and closing of safety gate 902.Industrial controller 910 may communicate with gate control box 906 overa plant network or hardwired I/O 908, such that gate control box 906 canbe made aware of the state of the controlled machine or process 912based on information received from the industrial controller 910.

In this example, a user can initiate a request to open the gate viaindustrial-enabled mobile device 202 using an embodiment of theindustrial application component 212 specific to gate control. Inresponse to a command from the user to launch the gate controlapplication, the industrial application component 212 can render agraphical interface for gate control on the display screen of mobiledevice 202. Mobile device 202 may also detect the presence of gatecontrol box 906 within range of the mobile device's near fieldcommunication interface, and initiate wireless communication with thegate control box 906. The user can then initiate a request to open thesafety gate 902 via suitable interaction with the graphical interface.

Before sending the request to the gate control box, the graphicalinterface may prompt the user to enter biometric information in order toconfirm the user's identity, as described in previous examples. Mobiledevice 202 can then send the open request 904 to the gate control boxtogether with the biometrically authenticated user identity.

Since access to the protected area may be restricted only to authorizedpersonnel, gate control box 906 may store a file identifying allpersonnel or user roles granted permission to enter the protected area.Upon receiving the open request 904 from the industrial-enabled mobiledevice 202, the gate control box 906 can compare the user identitybundled with the open request 904 with the stored identities ofauthorized personnel. If the gate control box 906 determines that theuser identity (or the role associated with the user identity) is not anauthorized user, the gate control box 906 can return a denial message tomobile device 202 indicating that the user has not been granted accessto the protected area.

Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 9B, if the user identity isdetermined to correspond to an authorized user, gate control box cansend an approved open request 914 to the industrial controller 910. Inresponse, the industrial controller 910 can instruct the controlledmachine or process 912 to transition to a safe state in order to preparefor human access. For example, if the controlled machine or process 912is currently running, the industrial controller 910 may allow theprocess or machine to complete its current work cycle, then return theprocess or machine to a safe state (e.g., place the machine in a Homeposition and switch to a non-automatic mode, de-energize potentiallydangerous equipment, etc.). Once the industrial controller 910 confirmsthat the controlled machine or process 912 is in a safe state, theindustrial controller 910 can send a safe state confirmation 916 to thegate control box 906 indicating that the protected area is safe toenter. In response to this confirmation, gate control box 906 can openthe safety gate 902 and send a gate open confirmation to the mobiledevice 202 over the wireless communication channel. The industrialapplication component may render a confirmation message on the graphicalinterface of the mobile device's display screen indicating that theprotected area is safe to enter.

Since the industrial-enabled mobile device 202 biometrically confirmsthe user's identity when a request to open the safety gate is initiated,gate access requests by plant personnel can be tracked and logged, e.g.,using a higher level system on the plant facility or by a cloud-basedtracking system that executes on cloud platform 106. For example, eachtime a user initiates a request to open the safety gate 902,industrial-enabled mobile device 202 can send a record of the request tothe higher level system in parallel with the gate opening sequence,thereby creating an access log for the protected area that identifies atime of access (or a time of a denied access request) and an identity ofthe user who initiated the access request.

FIG. 10 illustrates another example embodiment of industrial-enabledmobile device that can be used to link a user to remote technicalsupport, and to route relevant industrial device data to remotetechnical support personnel. As described in previous examples,industrial-enabled mobile device 202 is configured to wirelesslycommunicate with one or more industrial devices 1020 of an industrialautomation system using the mobile device's wireless interface (e.g.,NFC, Bluetooth, etc.), and to retrieve device data 1018 from theindustrial devices. Device data 1018 may comprise, for example, deviceidentifiers; configuration parameter settings; log data comprisinghistorical status, operational, or measured data for the industrialdevice; current firmware or software versions installed on theindustrial device; or other such information.

According to this embodiment, industrial-enabled mobile device 202 canbe used to initiate contact with a remote technical support entity forassistance with a technical support issue relating to industrial devices1020, and to route relevant system information to the remote technicalsupport entity to facilitate identifying and resolving the issue. Tothis end, the industrial application component executing on mobiledevice 202 can generate and render a suitable graphical interface on themobile device's display screen, which includes a selectable option forinitiating remote support (e.g., a graphical button or other inputmeans). In some embodiments, the request for remote assistance can beinitiated after device data 1018 has been collected from industrialdevices 1020. Alternatively, industrial-enabled mobile device 202 may beconfigured to respond to the technical support request by discoveringone or more industrial devices within the mobile device's wirelessrange, initiating communication with the industrial devices, andretrieving device data 1018 from the devices that may be relevant toidentifying and resolving potential performance or maintenance issueswith the devices. In yet another example, the industrial applicationcomponent 212 may implement a troubleshooting wizard on the mobiledevice 202 to facilitate location and retrieval of relevant data fromone or more of the industrial devices 1020.

Once the device data 1018 has been gathered from the industrial devices1020, and in response to initiation of the remote support request,mobile device 202 can send support request data 1016 to a cloud-basedremote support system 1002. Support request data 1016 may include acustomer identifier associated with the plant facility (appended to therequest by the industrial application component executing on mobiledevice 202), a request for remote support, and at least a subset of thedevice data 1018 collected by mobile device 202.

The support request data 1016 is received by a device interfacecomponent 1006 of the cloud-based remote support system 1002, andprovided to a routing component 1004, which may perform additionalprocessing on the support request data 1016 prior to sending a requestto a remote support representative. In some embodiments, routingcomponent 1004 can perform this additional processing based onpreviously captured knowledge of the customer's system maintained in acloud-based customer data store (not shown), or in a customer profile1010 stored on the cloud platform and containing customer-specificinformation about the owner of industrial devices 1020. For example,upon receipt of support request data 1016, the routing component 1004may extract the customer identifier from the request and retrieveadditional information about the customer from the customer data storeor customer profile 1010.

Customer profile 1010 can contain customer-specific information andpreferences, which can be leveraged by remote support system 1002 todetermine how support requests should be handled. Example informationmaintained in customer profile 1010 can include a client identifier,client contact information specifying other plant personnel who becontacted in response to a technical support request (where theidentified plant personnel may be dependent upon a production area orhierarchical level for which technical support is required),notification preferences specifying how plant personnel should benotified (e.g., email, mobile phone, text message, etc.), preferredtechnical support personnel to be contacted in the event of a detecteddevice performance issue, service contracts that are active between thecustomer and the technical support entity, and other such information.Remote support system 1002 can marry data collected for respectivecustomers with the customer model for identification and event handlingpurposes. In some embodiments, the cloud-based remote support system1002 can serve a custom interface to client devices of authorized plantpersonnel to facilitate entering or editing the customer profile 1010.In other embodiments, all or portions of the customer profile 1010 canbe updated in near real-time based on data maintained on a local serveron the plant facility. For example, if an engineering manager isreplaced, an administrator at the plant facility may update a locallymaintained employee database with the name and contact information forthe new manager. The employee database may be communicatively linked tothe cloud platform, such that the contact information stored in thecustomer profile 1010 is automatically updated to replace the contactinformation of the outgoing manager with the new employee contactinformation.

In some embodiments, routing component 1004 can glean additionalcustomer-specific context that may assist in diagnosing the performanceproblem by referencing system, process, asset, and/or device data storedin the cloud-based customer data store. Such context may includeadditional information about the devices and/or machines with which theindustrial devices 1020 interact (e.g., identities of such devices, aswell as their role in the overall industrial system and their functionalrelationship to industrial devices 1020 in particular), other upstreamor downstream processes whose operation may have an impact on operationof the industrial devices 1020, etc.

Some embodiments of routing component 1004 can also compare all orportions of support request data 1016 relating to performance ofindustrial devices 1020 at the time of the support request withcorresponding sets of historical performance data for industrial devices1020 stored in the cloud-based customer data store. Based on thesecomparisons, routing component 1004 can identify performance metricsthat deviated from normal or preferred operation before, during, andafter the detected event so that such deviations can be identified tothe remote support representative. Such comparisons can be relative topreviously established baseline metrics. In addition, since supportrequest data 1016 may include collected performance data from otherdevices or machines that have a functional relationship with industrialdevices 1020, routing component 1004 can also compare performancemetrics for these other devices at the time of the support request withpreviously collected performance data for these devices. Such analysiscan provide insight into possible root causes of detected performancesissue that are external to the industrial devices 1020 themselves. Forexample, based on such analysis, routing component 1004 may determinethat an abnormality of an upstream machine or process is a possible rootcause of the performance issue detected at one of the industrial devices1020.

Also, in one or more embodiments, routing component 1004 can analyzesupport request data 1016 in view of product data maintained in aproduct knowledgebase to yield additional information that may berelevant to diagnosis of the performance issue. For example, routingcomponent 1004 may use device identifiers for the industrial devices1020 contained in support request data 1016 to retrieve vendor-providedinformation about those industrial devices from the productknowledgebase to determine whether the firmware versions currentlyinstalled on the devices 1020 are up-to-date. The product knowledgebasemay include vendor-provided product information regarding currentfirmware versions, software versions, hardware versions, etc.Accordingly, routing component 1004 can retrieve recent productinformation for the devices identified by the support request data 1016,compare a firmware version number indicated by support request data 1016with the most recent firmware version number indicated by the productknowledgebase, and make a determination regarding whether theon-premises industrial devices 1020 are using the most recent firmwareversion.

Routing component 1004 may also reference the product knowledge base todetermine whether there are known performance problems (e.g., reportedtechnical issues, recently discovered product bugs, etc.) associatedwith any of the devices identified by the support request data 1016.These performance issues may be a function of the particular software orfirmware being run on the devices (reported to the remote support system1002 in support request data 1016), and accordingly, the routingcomponent 1004 may determine that installing a different software orfirmware version on the device will correct the performance problem.

In another example, a device vendor may report a known compatibilityissue with their industrial device, a discovered performance issue withtheir device when a particular firmware version is installed, or otherknown problems with their device. Accordingly, routing component 1004can access the product knowledgebase to determine whether there areknown vendor-reported issues with one or more of the industrial devices1020 or related devices identified by support request data 1016. Thisinformation can also be reported to the remote support representative tofacilitate rapid and accurate diagnosis.

Once preliminary processing of support request data 1016 has beencompleted, routing component 1004 can package the processeddata—including support request data 1016 and any additional datagenerated through the analyses described above—as aggregated supportdata 1012. Routing component 1004 can then determine a suitabletechnical support representative to assist the customer in diagnosingthe reported issue. In some embodiments, based on examination ofaggregated support data 1012, routing component 1004 can determine anarea of expertise or competency required to diagnose the issue, based onsuch factors as the particular industrial devices or device types thatare involved, the industry in which the industrial device is being used(e.g., automotive, pharmaceutical, oil and gas, food and drug, plastics,textiles, etc., as identified by customer profile 1010), or other suchconsiderations.

Routing component 1004 can then reference a set of stored competencyprofiles to determine a suitable remote support representative ordepartment to assist the customer in addressing the support issue.Competency profiles can be associated with respective technical supportindividuals or departments, and store information specifying areas ofexpertise for the respective individuals/departments. An examplecompetency profile for a given technical support representative caninclude a list of devices or device types that the representative iscompetent to diagnose, the representative's industries of expertise,types of industrial applications in which the representative hasexperience, or other relevant data that can be used by the system tomatch a suitable representative to the reported issue. In an examplescenario, if the reported issue relates to a motor drive failure,routing component 1004 can determine the type of motor drive based onexamination of aggregated support data 1012 and match the issue to acompetency profile associated with a motor drives department of a remotetechnical support facility. In some embodiments, selection of anappropriate support representative can also be based on customerpreferences maintained in customer profile 1010, which may specify oneor more support representatives preferred by the customer.

Routing component 1004 can then route the aggregated support data 1012to the technical support representative or department whose profilematches the reported issue. This can involve sending a notification,together with all or portions of aggregated support data 1012, to one ormore client devices 1014 associated with the selected supportrepresentative or department. The rich set of data contained inaggregated support data 1012 can quickly convey the nature of theproblem to the technical support representative via the client device1014 without requiring the customer to have extensive knowledge of theirown system. Moreover, the additional customer-specific informationmaintained in the cloud-based customer data store can be accessed by thecustomer support representative via the cloud platform so thatadditional knowledge of the customer's system can be obtained ifnecessary.

Aggregated support data 1012 can comprise a variety of information toassist the remote support representative with diagnosis. For example,aggregated support data 1012 can include a summary of the detectedproblem and an identification of the affected industrial device(s).Since a reported device failure or performance degradation can be afunction of the behavior of other related devices or assets, aggregatedsupport data 1012 can also include system configuration informationdescribing the system of which the affected device is a component. Thiscan include identification of related devices or machines, therelationship of these other devices or machines to the affected device,information that is shared between the devices, how the various devicesare networked (including identities and locations of networkarchitecture devices used to network the system), and other such systemconfiguration information. Relevant contextual information (e.g., alocation of the affected device within a the overall enterprise or planthierarchy, timestamp data, quality indicators, machine or processstates, identification and locations of plant personnel at the time ofthe detected event, etc.) can also be provided via aggregated supportdata 1012.

Aggregated support data 1012 can also identify system deviations frombaseline performance metrics and configurations. In this regard, routingcomponent 1004 can compare the performance and device configuration dataprovided by mobile device 202 with corresponding baseline performancemetrics and device configuration data maintained in the cloud-basedcustomer data store in order to identify aspects of the customer'ssystem (e.g., performance indicators, configuration parameters, softwareversions, etc.) that have deviated from their baseline values. Thesedeviant aspects can be identified to the customer support representativeas being potentially relevant to diagnosis of the reported issue.

In some embodiments, aggregated support data 1012 can provide the remoteservice representative with a virtual representation of the customer'ssystem based on the customer data maintained on the cloud platform. Thisvirtual representation can leverage any suitable customer data (e.g.,device, process, asset, and/or system data) to construct a virtualrepresentation of the customer's production area, plant, or other subsetof the industrial enterprise. In an example scenario, the virtualrepresentation can comprise a three-dimensional representation that canbe navigated by the customer service representative, where therepresentation includes graphical representations of the customer'sdevices and assets. These graphical device representations can belocated and oriented with respect to one another to simulate theirrespective locations in the plant, thereby allowing the customer supportrepresentative to explore the customer's system in a manner thatsimulates their presence on the plant floor. The remote support systemcan overlay graphical indicators on particular areas of the customer'sindustrial system (e.g., devices, production areas, etc.) that may beexperiencing a performance issue, or that may be a cause of an issuedetected at another part of the plant. These indicators can be based,for example, on the baseline deviations described above.

Depending on the active service contract between the customer and thetechnical support entity, aggregated support data 1012 may includeautomatically generated work order information for maintenance orpurchase order information for equipment depending on the nature of thedetected issue. For example, if the remote support system diagnoses thedetected performance issue as one that requires an on-site support visitor a replacement device, routing component 1004 can automaticallygenerate the necessary work order or purchase order for delivery to thetechnical support entity. In the event that an on-site visit is deemednecessary, the system may also automatically schedule the on-site visit.In this regard, the remote support system can, for example, access anon-site scheduling system maintained by the customer support entity(either locally at the support facility or on the cloud platform) todetermine available times and technicians.

In addition to providing relevant device and customer data, the remotesupport system 1002 may also provide the remote support representativewith contact information for the owner of mobile device 202 (e.g., aphone number of the mobile device 202 if the mobile device is a phone,an email address, etc.), allowing the representative to contact theemployee directly, e.g., via mobile device 202 or other personal clientdevice belonging to the plant employee. In addition or alternatively,the remote support system 1002 can automatically establish acommunication channel between the support representative's personaldevice (e.g., desktop computer, laptop, tablet, mobile device, wearablecomputer, etc.) and the mobile device 202. This may involve initiating aphone call to the mobile device, or establishing a video conferencebetween the employee and the support representative via the cloudplatform.

Some embodiments of the cloud-based remote support system 1002 can alsoinclude tools that allow the plant employee to send supplementalinformation about a reported issue to the technical supportrepresentative. Since the remote support system 1002 creates a uniqueissue identifier for each reported issue, the owner ofindustrial-enabled mobile device 202 can use the mobile device togenerate supplemental information about the problem and upload thisadditional information to the cloud platform in association with theissue identifier. For example, the customer may decide that thephotographs or video of an affected machine or device may assist thesupport representative in diagnosing the cause of a reported performanceissue. In this scenario, the customer can take a photograph or videofootage of the relevant machine or device using mobile device 202. Then,through interaction with a graphical interface generated by theindustrial application component executing on mobile device 202, theuser can establish a login session with the cloud-based support system,enter or select the open issue identifier, and upload the photograph orvideo to the remote support system in association with the open issueidentifier. In response to receiving the photograph or video, therouting component 1004 can deliver the photograph or video, tagged withthe issue identifier, to the personal client device associate with therelevant support technician. The remote support system may also storethe received photograph or video in a record for the open support issuetogether with previously provided information.

FIG. 11 illustrates another embodiment of industrial-enabled mobiledevice 202 that can be used to locate failed sensors or other industrialinput devices. In this example, an industrial control system comprisesan industrial controller 1104 (e.g., a PLC or other type of industrialcontroller) and multiple sensors that provide measured input data to thecontroller (as well as a number of output devices controlled by theindustrial controller 1104, which are not shown in FIG. 11). The sensorscan comprise digital sensors (e.g., proximity sensors, photoelectricsensors, etc.) or analog sensors (e.g., distance sensors, analogtelemetry devices or meters, etc.). Some sensors (e.g., sensors 1108)may communicate with industrial controller 1104 over one or more of aplant network, the controller backplane, or a hardwired I/O connectionto the industrial controller's input modules. Other sensors (e.g.,sensors 1112) may send their data to industrial controller 1104 via aremote I/O module, which communicates with the industrial controllerover a network connection or the controller's backplane.

In one or more embodiments, industrial-enabled mobile device202—executing industrial application component 212—can be used toidentify and locate a failed sensor, either by direct wirelesscommunication with the failed sensor or by inferring the identity of thefailed sensor through coordination with other devices.

In a first example, a sensor may be designed to emit a wireless beacon(e.g., an infrared or radio frequency beacon) when the sensor is in afailed state. Accordingly, embodiments of industrial applicationcomponent 212 designed to detect sensor failures can leverage the mobiledevice's wireless interface to detect this beacon and generate anotification on the mobile device's display screen via user interfacecomponent 206 in response to detecting this beacon. Industrialapplication component 212 can also determine a location of the source ofbeacon relative to the mobile device, and render directional informationon the mobile device's display screen to guide the user to the locationof the failed sensor. Thus, a plant employee can use their personalmobile device to detect and locate a failed sensor in order to effectrepair or replacement.

In another example, rather than detecting the failed sensor throughdirect wireless communication with the sensor, industrial-enabled mobiledevice 202 can be configured to identify and locate the failed sensorthrough interaction with other devices comprising the industrial controlsystem. For example, in response to a command from the owner of mobiledevice 202, industrial application component 212 can cause the mobiledevice 202 to establish wireless communication with industrialcontroller 1104, as described in previous examples. Based on informationregarding the particular type or model of the industrial controller(either manually provided by the user or determined during a handshakingsequence between the mobile device 202 and industrial controller 1104),the industrial application component 212 can determine the dataregisters within the industrial controller's data table that correspondto the various input devices that interface with the industrialcontroller 1104. The industrial controller's data table may includeinformation regarding the types of input devices corresponding to therespective digital and/or analog input points of the controller's inputmodules, user-defined names or descriptions for each input (e.g., “Partpresent at Station 1,” “Mixer 1 Fill Level,” “Part Placement StationLight Curtain,” etc.), I/O address information for each input, and/ordiagnostic information for each input device. Industrial applicationcomponent 212 can read and interpret this data table information fromindustrial controller 1104, and render status information for therespective input devices based on this retrieved data. Industrialapplication component 212 can identify failed sensors based on theretrieved information, and flag these sensors on the mobile device'sdisplay screen. Since the names or descriptions associated with eachsensor are read from the industrial controller 1104 and rendered on thedisplay, sensors flagged as being failed can be quickly identified.

In addition to communication with an industrial controller,industrial-enabled mobile device 202 can determine or infer the identityand/or location of a failed sensor based on communication with othertypes of devices, including but not limited to remote I/O module 1110, asafety relay wired to one or more sensors, etc. In another example,mobile device may determine that a transmitting photoelectric sensor hasfailed by wirelessly reading a failure indication from the matingreceiver photoelectric sensor.

FIGS. 12-18 illustrate various methodologies in accordance with one ormore embodiments of the subject application. While, for purposes ofsimplicity of explanation, the one or more methodologies shown hereinare shown and described as a series of acts, it is to be understood andappreciated that the subject innovation is not limited by the order ofacts, as some acts may, in accordance therewith, occur in a differentorder and/or concurrently with other acts from that shown and describedherein. For example, those skilled in the art will understand andappreciate that a methodology could alternatively be represented as aseries of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram.Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement amethodology in accordance with the innovation. Furthermore, interactiondiagram(s) may represent methodologies, or methods, in accordance withthe subject disclosure when disparate entities enact disparate portionsof the methodologies. Further yet, two or more of the disclosed examplemethods can be implemented in combination with each other, to accomplishone or more features or advantages described herein.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example methodology 1200 for identifying anindustrial device using a mobile personal electronic device, such as amobile phone or tablet computer. Initially, at 1202, photographic datacomprising an image of a catalog number or a quick response (QR) code ofan industrial device is received via an integrated camera component of amobile personal device. The photographic data can be generated by takinga photograph of the catalog number or QR code printed on a surface ofthe industrial device using the personal mobile device. The industrialdevice can comprise, for example, an industrial controller, a sensor, atelemetry device, a motor drive, a safety relay, or other such device.

At 1204, an identifier of the industrial device is determined based onanalysis of the photographic data. This can comprise, for example,translating the QR code, or performing optical character recognition onthe catalog number contained in the photographic data. At 1206, theidentifier determined at step 1204 is submitted to a data store thatcontains information about the industrial device. The data store maycomprise, for example, a product database or knowledgebase containinginformation about various industrial devices, categorized by catalognumber. In some embodiments, the data store may reside locally on themobile personal device. Alternatively, the data store may resideremotely relative to the mobile personal device, e.g., on a cloudplatform accessible by the mobile personal device via an Internetconnection. In such embodiments, the mobile personal device can submitthe translated device identifier to the remote data store via the mobiledevice's wireless interface.

At 1208, information about the industrial device is retrieved from thedata store. This information may include, for example, a name andfunction of the industrial device, technical documentation for theindustrial device, recommended configuration settings for the industrialdevice, contact information for technical support entities who may beable to provide expert assistance with installation or maintenance ofthe industrial device, or other such information. At 1210, theinformation retrieved at step 1208 is rendered on a display of themobile personal device.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example methodology 1300 for interpreting an LEDblinking sequence on an industrial device. Initially, at 1302, videodata comprising a recording of a blinking LED on an industrial device isreceived via a camera component of a mobile personal device. The videodata can be obtained, for example, by recording a video of theindustrial device using the mobile device's integrated video recorder.At 1304, identification information that identifies the industrialdevice is received. This identification can comprise, for example,vendor information and/or a model or catalog number of the industrialdevice. The identification information can be provided manually via themobile device's touch screen, or can be determined automatically byinterpreting a catalog number or QR code contained in the videorecording of the industrial device, using a methodology similar to thatdescribed above in connection with FIG. 12.

At 1306, a recorded blink sequence is identified based on analysis ofthe video data. For example, the mobile device may be configured toidentify a portion of the video data corresponding to a flashing LED,and to perform an analysis on this portion of the video to identify theblink sequence being rendered by the LED. At 1308, the identified blinksequence is cross-referenced with a set of blink sequences associatedwith the identified industrial device to determine the error coderepresented by the blink sequence. This can be accomplished, forexample, by submitting a distinctive blink sequence identifiercorresponding to the translated blink sequence to a productknowledgebase containing information about known error codes for variousindustrial devices and the respective blink sequences used to indicateeach error code. At 1310, information about the error code is renderedon the display screen of the mobile personal device. The information maycomprise a description of the error and recommended actions for clearingthe error or for mitigating possible future occurrences of the error.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example methodology 1400 for initiating safetygate access using a mobile personal device. Initially, at 1402, wirelesscommunication is established between a safety gate control device and amobile personal device executing a gate access application. The wirelesscommunication can be established, for example, using the mobile device'sBluetooth or NFC capabilities. At 1404, a request from the mobilepersonal device to open a safety gate is received at the safety gatecontrol box, together with a user identifier associated with the mobilepersonal device. In some scenarios, the safety gate may provide accessto a protected area near an industrial automation system, and the ownerof the mobile device wishing to access the protected area initiates theopen request from the mobile device. At 1406, a determination is maderegarding whether the user is authorized to enter the protected area.This determination may be made by the safety gate control device basedon the received user identifier and stored permissive informationidentifying which users are permitted to access the protected area. Ifit is determined at 1406 that the user is not an authorized user, accessis denied at 1408. Alternatively, if it is determined at 1406 that theuser is authorized, the methodology moves to 1410, where the safety gatecontrol device sends an indication to an industrial controllerassociated with the industrial automation system that a request to openthe safety gate has been received.

At 1412, a determination is made regarding whether a confirmation thatthe industrial automation system is in a safe state has been receivedfrom the industrial controller. If no such confirmation has beenreceived, the methodology continues to wait until the safe stateconfirmation has been received from the industrial controller. When theconfirmation has been received, the methodology moves to step 1414,where the safety gate control device initiates opening of the safetygate. At 1416, the safety gate control device sends a confirmation tothe mobile personal device that the gate has been opened and theindustrial automation system is in a safe state.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example methodology for performing diagnostics onan industrial device using a mobile personal device. Initially, at 1502,wireless communication (e.g., Bluetooth, NFC, etc.) is establishedbetween a mobile personal device (e.g., a mobile phone, a tabletcomputer, wearable computer, etc.) and an industrial device. The mobilepersonal device may be running an industrial diagnostic application forretrieving and/or analyzing operational or configuration data retrievedfrom industrial devices. At 1504, the mobile personal device retrievesat least one of collected operational data or configuration data fromthe industrial device. At 1506, the mobile personal device determines anidentity of the industrial device based on at least one of the dataretrieved at step 1504 or photographic data captured by the mobilepersonal device (e.g., using techniques described above in connectionwith FIG. 12). At 1508, diagnostics for the industrial device areperformed based on the data retrieved at step 1504 and the identity ofthe industrial device determined at step 1506. In some embodiments, thediagnostics can be performed locally by the mobile personal device.Alternatively, the mobile device can send the data collected at steps1504 and 1506 to a remote analysis service (e.g., a web-based orcloud-based analysis service) for remote analysis, and the results ofsuch analysis can be sent to the mobile device and rendered on thedevice's display screen.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example methodology for using a mobile personaldevice to identify one or more equivalent replacement devices for anindustrial device. Initially, at 1602, a photographic image of a firstindustrial device associated with a first vendor is received via acamera component of a mobile personal device. The photographic image canbe generated, for example, by taking a photograph of the firstindustrial device using the mobile device's integrated camera. At 1604,the first industrial device is identified based on the photographicimage. The first industrial device can be identified based on one ormore of feature recognition analysis performed on the photographicimage, a catalog number identified in the photographic image, or a QRcode or other translatable code identified in the photographic image.

At 1606, the mobile personal device accesses a data store thatcross-references functionally equivalent industrial devices acrossmultiple vendors. This data store can be stored locally on the mobiledevice, or remotely on web-based or cloud-based storage. At 1608, asecond industrial device determined to be equivalent to the firstindustrial device is identified based on the identity of the firstdevice determined at step 1604 and information contained in the datastore. The second industrial device may be associated with a secondvendor that is different than the first vendor. At 1610, informationabout the second industrial device is rendered on the display screen ofthe mobile personal device. This information can include, for example,an identity (e.g., vendor and/or model or catalog number) of the secondindustrial device, a description of the second industrial device,contact information for local vendors who may have the second industrialdevice available for sale, or other such information.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example methodology for initiate remote technicalsupport for an industrial device using a mobile personal device.Initially, at 1702, wireless communication (e.g. Bluetooth, NFC, etc.)is established between a mobile personal device and one or moreindustrial devices. At 1704, the mobile personal device retrievesoperational, configuration, or log data stored on the industrial devicevia the wireless connection. At 1706, a request for remote technicalassistance is initiated via the mobile personal device (e.g., throughinteraction with a remote support graphical interface rendered on themobile device's display screen). At 1708, the mobile device sends thedata retrieved at step 1704 to a web-based or cloud-based remote supportsystem for viewing and analysis by a remote technical support entity.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example methodology for identifying and locatinga failed I/O device using a mobile personal device. Initially, at 1802,wireless communication (e.g., Bluetooth, NFC, etc.) is establishedbetween an industrial controller and a mobile personal device (e.g., amobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable computer, etc.) executing anindustrial diagnostic application. At 1804, configuration and statusdata stored in the industrial controller is retrieved by the mobilepersonal device via the wireless connection. At 1806, the mobilepersonal device identifies one or more failed I/O devices based onanalysis of the configuration data and/or the status data retrieved atstep 1804. At 1808, the personal mobile device identifies at least oneof a location or an address of the failed I/O device based on theconfiguration and/or status data. At 1810, information relating to atleast one of the identity, location, or address of the failed I/O deviceis displayed on a display screen of the mobile personal device.

Embodiments, systems, and components described herein, as well asindustrial control systems and industrial automation environments inwhich various aspects set forth in the subject specification can becarried out, can include computer or network components such as servers,clients, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), automation controllers,communications modules, mobile computers, wireless components, controlcomponents and so forth which are capable of interacting across anetwork. Computers and servers include one or more processors—electronicintegrated circuits that perform logic operations employing electricsignals—configured to execute instructions stored in media such asrandom access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), a hard drives, aswell as removable memory devices, which can include memory sticks,memory cards, flash drives, external hard drives, and so on.

Similarly, the term PLC or automation controller as used herein caninclude functionality that can be shared across multiple components,systems, and/or networks. As an example, one or more PLCs or automationcontrollers can communicate and cooperate with various network devicesacross the network. This can include substantially any type of control,communications module, computer, Input/Output (I/O) device, sensor,actuator, and human machine interface (HMI) that communicate via thenetwork, which includes control, automation, and/or public networks. ThePLC or automation controller can also communicate to and control variousother devices such as I/O modules including analog, digital,programmed/intelligent I/O modules, other programmable controllers,communications modules, sensors, actuators, output devices, and thelike.

The network can include public networks such as the internet, intranets,and automation networks such as control and information protocol (CIP)networks including DeviceNet, ControlNet, and EtherNet/IP. Othernetworks include Ethernet, DH/DH+, Remote I/O, Fieldbus, Modbus,Profibus, CAN, wireless networks, serial protocols, and so forth. Inaddition, the network devices can include various possibilities(hardware and/or software components). These include components such asswitches with virtual local area network (VLAN) capability, LANs, WANs,proxies, gateways, routers, firewalls, virtual private network (VPN)devices, servers, clients, computers, configuration tools, monitoringtools, and/or other devices.

In order to provide a context for the various aspects of the disclosedsubject matter, FIGS. 19 and 20 as well as the following discussion areintended to provide a brief, general description of a suitableenvironment in which the various aspects of the disclosed subject mattermay be implemented.

With reference to FIG. 19, an example environment 1910 for implementingvarious aspects of the aforementioned subject matter includes a computer1912. The computer 1912 includes a processing unit 1914, a system memory1916, and a system bus 1918. The system bus 1918 couples systemcomponents including, but not limited to, the system memory 1916 to theprocessing unit 1914. The processing unit 1914 can be any of variousavailable processors. Multi-core microprocessors and othermultiprocessor architectures also can be employed as the processing unit1914.

The system bus 1918 can be any of several types of bus structure(s)including the memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus orexternal bus, and/or a local bus using any variety of available busarchitectures including, but not limited to, 8-bit bus, IndustrialStandard Architecture (ISA), Micro-Channel Architecture (MSA), ExtendedISA (EISA), Intelligent Drive Electronics (IDE), VESA Local Bus (VLB),Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Universal Serial Bus (USB),Advanced Graphics Port (AGP), Personal Computer Memory CardInternational Association bus (PCMCIA), and Small Computer SystemsInterface (SCSI).

The system memory 1916 includes volatile memory 1920 and nonvolatilememory 1922. The basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basicroutines to transfer information between elements within the computer1912, such as during start-up, is stored in nonvolatile memory 1922. Byway of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory 1922 caninclude read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electricallyprogrammable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), or flashmemory. Volatile memory 1920 includes random access memory (RAM), whichacts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and notlimitation, RAM is available in many forms such as synchronous RAM(SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rateSDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), anddirect Rambus RAM (DRRAM).

Computer 1912 also includes removable/non-removable,volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. FIG. 19 illustrates, forexample a disk storage 1924. Disk storage 1924 includes, but is notlimited to, devices like a magnetic disk drive, floppy disk drive, tapedrive, Jaz drive, Zip drive, LS-100 drive, flash memory card, or memorystick. In addition, disk storage 1924 can include storage mediaseparately or in combination with other storage media including, but notlimited to, an optical disk drive such as a compact disk ROM device(CD-ROM), CD recordable drive (CD-R Drive), CD rewritable drive (CD-RWDrive) or a digital versatile disk ROM drive (DVD-ROM). To facilitateconnection of the disk storage 1924 to the system bus 1918, a removableor non-removable interface is typically used such as interface 1926.

It is to be appreciated that FIG. 19 describes software that acts as anintermediary between users and the basic computer resources described insuitable operating environment 1910. Such software includes an operatingsystem 1928. Operating system 1928, which can be stored on disk storage1924, acts to control and allocate resources of the computer 1912.System applications 1930 take advantage of the management of resourcesby operating system 1928 through program modules 1932 and program data1934 stored either in system memory 1916 or on disk storage 1924. It isto be appreciated that one or more embodiments of the subject disclosurecan be implemented with various operating systems or combinations ofoperating systems.

A user enters commands or information into the computer 1912 throughinput device(s) 1936. Input devices 1936 include, but are not limitedto, a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, stylus, touch pad,keyboard, microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, TVtuner card, digital camera, digital video camera, web camera, and thelike. These and other input devices connect to the processing unit 1914through the system bus 1918 via interface port(s) 1938. Interfaceport(s) 1938 include, for example, a serial port, a parallel port, agame port, and a universal serial bus (USB). Output device(s) 1640 usesome of the same type of ports as input device(s) 1936. Thus, forexample, a USB port may be used to provide input to computer 1912, andto output information from computer 1912 to an output device 1940.Output adapters 1942 are provided to illustrate that there are someoutput devices 1940 like monitors, speakers, and printers, among otheroutput devices 1940, which require special adapters. The output adapters1942 include, by way of illustration and not limitation, video and soundcards that provide a means of connection between the output device 1940and the system bus 1918. It should be noted that other devices and/orsystems of devices provide both input and output capabilities such asremote computer(s) 1944.

Computer 1912 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers, such as remote computer(s)1944. The remote computer(s) 1944 can be a personal computer, a server,a router, a network PC, a workstation, a microprocessor based appliance,a peer device or other common network node and the like, and typicallyincludes many or all of the elements described relative to computer1912. For purposes of brevity, only a memory storage device 1946 isillustrated with remote computer(s) 1944. Remote computer(s) 1944 islogically connected to computer 1912 through a network interface 1948and then physically connected via communication connection 1950. Networkinterface 1948 encompasses communication networks such as local-areanetworks (LAN) and wide-area networks (WAN). LAN technologies includeFiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), Copper Distributed DataInterface (CDDI), Ethernet/IEEE 802.3, Token Ring/IEEE 802.5 and thelike. WAN technologies include, but are not limited to, point-to-pointlinks, circuit switching networks like Integrated Services DigitalNetworks (ISDN) and variations thereon, packet switching networks, andDigital Subscriber Lines (DSL).

Communication connection(s) 1950 refers to the hardware/softwareemployed to connect the network interface 1948 to the system bus 1918.While communication connection 1950 is shown for illustrative clarityinside computer 1912, it can also be external to computer 1912. Thehardware/software necessary for connection to the network interface 1948includes, for exemplary purposes only, internal and externaltechnologies such as, modems including regular telephone grade modems,cable modems and DSL modems, ISDN adapters, and Ethernet cards.

FIG. 20 is a schematic block diagram of a sample computing environment2000 with which the disclosed subject matter can interact. The samplecomputing environment 2000 includes one or more client(s) 2002. Theclient(s) 2002 can be hardware and/or software (e.g., threads,processes, computing devices). The sample computing environment 2000also includes one or more server(s) 2004. The server(s) 2004 can also behardware and/or software (e.g., threads, processes, computing devices).The servers 2004 can house threads to perform transformations byemploying one or more embodiments as described herein, for example. Onepossible communication between a client 2002 and servers 2004 can be inthe form of a data packet adapted to be transmitted between two or morecomputer processes. The sample computing environment 2000 includes acommunication framework 2006 that can be employed to facilitatecommunications between the client(s) 2002 and the server(s) 2004. Theclient(s) 2002 are operably connected to one or more client datastore(s) 2008 that can be employed to store information local to theclient(s) 2002. Similarly, the server(s) 2004 are operably connected toone or more server data store(s) 2010 that can be employed to storeinformation local to the servers 2004.

What has been described above includes examples of the subjectinnovation. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivablecombination of components or methodologies for purposes of describingthe disclosed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art mayrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of the subjectinnovation are possible. Accordingly, the disclosed subject matter isintended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variationsthat fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

In particular and in regard to the various functions performed by theabove described components, devices, circuits, systems and the like, theterms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe suchcomponents are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, toany component which performs the specified function of the describedcomponent (e.g., a functional equivalent), even though not structurallyequivalent to the disclosed structure, which performs the function inthe herein illustrated exemplary aspects of the disclosed subjectmatter. In this regard, it will also be recognized that the disclosedsubject matter includes a system as well as a computer-readable mediumhaving computer-executable instructions for performing the acts and/orevents of the various methods of the disclosed subject matter.

In addition, while a particular feature of the disclosed subject mattermay have been disclosed with respect to only one of severalimplementations, such feature may be combined with one or more otherfeatures of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageousfor any given or particular application. Furthermore, to the extent thatthe terms “includes,” and “including” and variants thereof are used ineither the detailed description or the claims, these terms are intendedto be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”

In this application, the word “exemplary” is used to mean serving as anexample, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design describedherein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the wordexemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion.

Various aspects or features described herein may be implemented as amethod, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programmingand/or engineering techniques. The term “article of manufacture” as usedherein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computerreadable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storagedevices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips . . . ), opticaldisks [e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD) . . . ],smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, key drive . .. ).

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile device for interfacing with anindustrial device, comprising: a memory that stores computer-executablecomponents; a processor, operatively coupled to the memory, thatexecutes the computer-executable components, the computer-executablecomponents comprising: a wireless interface component configured to sendand receive data over a wireless network; and an industrial applicationcomponent configured to establish a wireless connection between themobile device and an industrial device using the wireless interfacecomponent, and to retrieve data from the industrial device via thewireless connection.
 2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein thewireless connection is established using near field communication. 3.The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the industrial applicationcomponent is further configured to identify a model number contained inat least one of the data or a photographic image of the industrialdevice captured by a camera component of the mobile device, and toretrieve information about the industrial device from a data store basedon the model number.
 4. The mobile device of claim 3, wherein the datastore is one of stored on a local memory of the mobile device or locatedon a remote cloud platform, and the information about the industrialdevice comprises at least one of an identity of the industrial device, adescription of the industrial device, technical documentation for theindustrial device, recommended device settings for the industrialdevice, or identification of an equivalent device capable of replacingthe industrial device.
 5. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein theindustrial application component is further configured to identify ablinking sequence of a light emitting diode (LED) contained in a videoof the industrial device captured by a video component of the mobiledevice, and to retrieve information about an error represented by theblinking sequence from at least one of a local data store or a remotedata store.
 6. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the data comprisesat least one of configuration data representing one or moreconfiguration settings of the industrial device, log data collected byand stored on the industrial device, status information for theindustrial device, or diagnostic data for the industrial device.
 7. Themobile device of claim 1, wherein the industrial application componentis further configured to write input data to one or more data registersof the industrial device via the wireless connection, wherein the inputdata is entered into the mobile device via an interface screen.
 8. Themobile device of claim 7, wherein the input data comprises at least oneof a configuration parameter value for the industrial device or acommand signal that instructs the industrial application to perform anoperation.
 9. The mobile device of claim 7, wherein the industrialapplication component is further configured to verify an identity basedon biometric information entered into the mobile device, and to deny aninstruction to write the input data to the one or more data registers ofthe industrial device in response to a determination that the biometricinformation does not correspond to an authorized identity.
 10. Themobile device of claim 1, wherein the industrial application componentis further configured to route the data to a cloud-based remotetechnical support system, and to receive at least one of technicalsupport information or device configuration data from the remotetechnical support system based on analysis of the data.
 11. The mobiledevice of claim 1, wherein the industrial device is at least one of anindustrial controller, a safety relay, a photoelectric sensor, atelemetry device, a motor drive, a vision system, a proximity switch, ahuman-machine interface, an industrial robot, a light curtain, a safetygate control system, or an access control system.
 12. The mobile deviceof claim 1, wherein the mobile device comprises at least one of a mobilephone, a tablet computer, or a wearable computer.
 13. A method forinteracting with an industrial device, comprising: establishing awireless connection between a mobile electronic device and an industrialdevice; and copying data from the industrial device to the mobileelectronic device over the wireless connection; and rendering the dataon a display screen of the mobile electronic device.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the mobile electronic device is at least one of aphone or a tablet computer, and the establishing the wireless connectioncomprises establishing a near field communication connection.
 15. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising: capturing an image of theindustrial device using a camera integrated with the mobile electronicdevice; identifying, by the mobile electronic device, a model numbercontained in the image; and retrieving, by the mobile electronic device,information about the industrial device based on the model number,wherein the information comprises at least one of a description of theindustrial device, technical documentation, recommended device settingsor identification of one or more functionally equivalent devices. 16.The method of claim 13, further comprising: capturing a video of theindustrial device using a video camera integrated with the mobileelectronic device; identifying, by the mobile electronic device, ablinking sequence of a light emitting diode (LED) recorded in the video;and retrieving, by the mobile electronic device, information about anerror corresponding to the blinking sequence.
 17. The method of claim13, further comprising: receiving configuration input via at least oneof the display screen of the mobile electronic device or a remote datasource, wherein the configuration input comprises a configurationsetting instructed to be written to a corresponding data register of theindustrial device; verifying, by the mobile electronic device, anidentity based on biometric information received by the mobileelectronic device; and writing the configuration input to the dataregister of the industrial device via the wireless connection inresponse to the verifying.
 18. A computer-readable medium having storedthereon computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution,cause a computing system to perform operations, the operationscomprising: causing a mobile electronic device to establish a wirelessconnection with an industrial device in response to an instructionreceived via the mobile device; causing the mobile electronic device toread data from the industrial device via the wireless connection,wherein the data comprises at least one of configuration data, statusdata, operational data, or log data stored on the industrial device; andrendering the data on a display interface of the mobile electronicdevice.
 19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein theoperations further comprise: analyzing a photographic image of theindustrial device captured by the mobile electronic device; identifyinga device identification number contained in the photographic image; andcausing the mobile electronic device to retrieve, from a local or remotedata store, information about the industrial device based on the deviceidentification number, wherein the information comprises at least one ofa device description, technical documentation, recommended devicesettings, or identification of another industrial device that isfunctionally equivalent to the industrial device.
 20. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the operations furthercomprise: receiving configuration data corresponding to a configurationsetting of the industrial device via the display interface of the mobileelectronic device; confirming a user identity based on biometric datareceived by the mobile electronic device; and causing the mobileelectronic device to write the configuration data to the industrialcontroller via the wireless connection in response to the confirming.